Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Beautiful work

it's a very pleasing shape

I watched the video and I went and ordered one. Also a spare blade, because I won't get another chance. Thanks for the hot tip. I have been wondering about the binding channel, and I really didn't like the idea of taking a router to the guitar body without at least scoring it first... And if I grind...

Hi Richard seeaxe, that's really kind thanks. It does seem a bit hard to find dedicated timber merchants and tools in NZ for the stuff I'd like. Nice to know there's an acoustic guitar builder in Auckland. I know there's a few electric guitar builders, but not acoustic. For my first build I'm using ...

Sad news... Maybe I'll order one thing from them before they're done. Something small-ish, maybe some fretting files ...

What would be one thing you bought from LMI which you'd recommend ordering?

This is also amazing... I think I'm going to keep coming back to these videos. Jonny Kinkead talking his friend through an acoustic guitar build he built for him, in 2021. Kinkead seems like a lovely guy, very charming and enthusiastic and humble. So many tips and thoughtful explanations. This is ep...

ouf. Nice save, Taff. My Mottola book arrived, and I already love it. It's a big book. 500 pages of A4. It's so detailed and seems nicely written & presented. Pics + diagrams seem clear. Measurements are given in inches + mm, URLs are accompanied with a QR code so you don't have to type them out. It...

Beautiful work, Frank.

It's all amazing, but in particular I love the rosette, the neck and the back of the headstock. The bridge is also very cute and original. Inspiring stuff.

Another book, that works well as a companion to the Mottola book, is Guitarmaking: Tradition And Technology Paperback (Cumpiano and Natelson). I got started with Cumpiano and Natelson's book...but it's now a bit dated in places. If you're using this book check out Cumpiano's website for updates on ...

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 This is amazing, Bob. It's so perfect. I'm a big fan of your colour choices - very tasteful. What tonewoods did you use? Also very reassuring to hear that you liked the book & found it useful for the Tripletta. It's so nice to have the plans already, they seem pretty decent. I'll get...

Thanks, yeah it sounds like I should experiment with bending _something_ first. I just ordered a book. Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar by L.M. Mottola. I nearly ordered the Kinkead one, then I changed my mind at the last minute. Mottola seems like a good guy with his free plans online, so ...

Nice idea to try with MDF first. That would make sense for roughly dialing in temperature & moisture. I also noticed this: https://www.lmii.com/924-acoustic-guitar-sides-for-laminating-or-practice . It might be good to pair a couple of these mismatched sides with a plywood top + bottom. I like your ...

Mark, I have wondered about pre-bent sides. I'd like to give bending a go, it looks like a very gratifying process, but I do worry that I might destroy some beautiful timber or at least bend it really unevenly. And if I have figured wood, maybe it's even harder to work with. I guess I can try it on ...

Hi all, thanks for the warm welcome. @taffy that is a gorgeous collection of old chisels. I looove the gouges, they look amazing. But yeah, more for carving I guess. Maybe they'd come in handy for a heel or a volute? For some reason I've not had the best luck buying old chisels. The 2 I bought had c...

Hey Alan, thanks for saying hi. I should get some old chisels. I have a some old planes and spokeshaves, which are awesome. The stanley spokeshave is probably my favourite old tool. I have a scraper blade & it's good, but I don't feel like I've got the knack of burnishing it right yet. I did get a j...

Hi, I'm a very occasional guitar tinkerer, based in West Auckland. How's it going? I'm a beginner, I've made one guitar. A while ago I made an SG-style electric, with a Yaka body, Maple neck, and a Pohutukawa fingerboard. The pickups were wound by a guy here in Auckland, I got some help from a local...